Zakara
by The Left Hand Of God
Summary: Toad was just looking to pick up a girl at a nearby bar, he had no idea that he would meet the one person that would change his life forever. Van Helsing crossover. NOTICE: I've revised Chapter 1 so please take a look at it. Thanks! And remember R
1. Chapter 1

1**Authors Note: This is my first ever fan fiction, so I hope you like it. Anyways on with the show.**

**I've revised this chapter, for I decided I thought the old one wasn't that great. So I hope you enjoy this one better.**

**Chapter 1:**

" Do you know what happen's to a Toad when it's struck by lightning?"The words echoed through Mortimer as he clung for his life on the guard rail.

_She wouldn'._

" The same thing that happens to everything else."

_Oh God she would._

All he saw was a bright white streak racing towards him, and then nothing but blackness. He could fell the icy waters of the Hudson surround him as he hit the water. It seemed endless. He tried to breath, he couldn't. All he did was bring him closer to death.

_Can't die, no' now._

Toad looked up, or at least what he thought was up, and saw a faint glint of light. Somehow he had managed to swim to the surface, the rest after that was lost to him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It's been nearly one year since the Statue of Liberty incident with the X-men and the Brotherhood. Magneto was captured and thrown in jail, but Mystique freed him a few months later. Sabertooth had healed rapidly back at the lair, but was sulking over losing his battle with Wolverine. Toad on the other hand had nearly died after Storm hit him with a bolt of lightning. Somehow he had survived, but barely. He had suffered from sever third degree burns all over his body, and had nearly gone into cardiac arrest. Toad also had several cracked ribs, deep bruising near his chest, and a fractured wrist. And due to the impact of the lightning all of his warts had literarily desingrated. Toad was almost done healing from his last few cuts and bruises when he desperately decided he needed a drink. But little to his knowledge the place where he was going would also be the place that would change his life forever.

**Authors Note:**

**So what did you think? Should I even bother to continue this, or should I just go back to my world domination plan? PLEASE read and review.**


	2. Chapter 2

1**Authors Note: Sorry I forgot to mention some things. NONE of the X-men belong to me. Nor does Cardinal Jinnette, Van Helsing, or Dracula. Everything else belongs to me… I think… potato.**

**Chapter 2:**

It had been a long night at the pub; well at least for Mortimer Toynbee. He had been there once again that week, looking to pick up any girl he could manage to find. But once again he had the same thing to show for every attempt he made. The ever so popular bitch-slap, and the occasional Martini or pina colada poured down his pants. Despite the fact that he now looked somewhat handsome, girls still found him to be a repulsive perv. Just as he was about to give up for the night, he heard a woman's voice call out to the bartender to give her another beer. Toad quickly looked over toward the counter for the mysterious women, and saw the bartender slide a large mug of beer to a dimly lit end of the bar. Surprised that he hadn't noticed that part of the bar before he headed towards her in hopes to get this girl.

"You know, somebody that looks as good as you shouldn' be down here alone down in the dark." Toad said lamely.

" How would you know if I looked good or not, you've never seen me before." The woman said cleverly. She had an accent; it was beautiful and rich, like you could almost taste it in your mouth.

"Well then all the better to see you then, huh luv."

"I suppose so."

"So you gonna turn 'round?"

"Only if you quit calling me 'luv'." Slowly the mysterious women turned around in her barstool to face Mort. He was nearly thrown back be how beautiful she was. She wore tight black pants that hugged every curve of her lower half. A red blouse with lightly frilled bell sleeves. Over it was a jet-black corset with a lot of cool looking buckles. And on top of it all was a black jacket with this beautiful swirl design in dark red at the bottom. By what Mort could tell was that she was wearing high-healed leather boots that came halfway up her thighs. In fact she looked a lot like Anna Valerious from 'Van Helsing'. Her face was amazing, thin but beautiful lips, covered in red lipstick were applied perfectly to them. Her nose was perfect, and her complexion was pale, but not in a sickly sort of way, almost angelic. Her hair was a dark brown and naturally curled. But her most beautiful features were her eyes, emerald green in color, and held by just the right amount of eyeliner and mascara.

"Are you all right?" Toad unknowingly hadn't stopped staring at her and some drool was coming out of his mouth.

"Oh, ugh…yeah." He said quickly while wiping the saliva from his mouth. Mort casually sat down in a broken barstool next to her. "So 'ow come I've never seen you here before?"

"Because, you were to busy looking for the first broad you could find." She answered flatly.

"Tha's cold luv." Toad replied.

"It's true. I've been watching you for the past few nights now. She could be the biggest skank in the world, but as long as she was pretty you wouldn't care."

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't 'ear tha'."

"I wont hold it against you."

" 'ey wait, did you say you've been here fo' the past few nights?"

"Yes."

"Wot were you doing here anyway?"

" This is the only place that serves a decent beer around for miles. Not to mention this is a great place to think."

"You always think in the dark?"

" Yes, I find the dark to be very peaceful and relaxing."

" That's weird luv."

" I could say the same for you. Do you always try to pick up girls in bars?"

" Only the pretty ones." She rolled her eyes, but smiled lightly. "So wot's your name?"

" What's yours?"

" Oh come on, tha's not fair, I asked you first." Toad complained.

She raised her eyebrow to show that she was becoming slightly annoyed with his childlike winning. "The names Toad."

" Cute, but what's your real name 'Toad'?"

Toad blushed slightly but in such bad lighting you probably couldn't tell. She could though, she could see every feature about him, and he was actually very handsome even though his skin was a greenish hue. He then became quite serious and rather quite for a moment, before answering. "My names Mortimer, Mortimer Toynbee." He said gruffly, just above a whisper. Waiting for her to laugh her head off like he would probably expected her to, he lowered his gaze from her to the floor. But instead of laughing she gently laid her hand on his shoulder, and with her other free hand tipped his head up by placing her index finger under his chin and lifting up. When they were eye-to-eye she smiled very warmly at him and whispered, " Mine is Zakara."

" I like it." He said blushing again over the fact that she had actually touched him.

" Thank you, I like yours as well. It's British isn't it?"

" Yeah. So, ummmm…. are you a ….."

" Mutant? Yes." Zakara replied matter-o-factly. " This is a mutant bar after all."

"Right. So do you 'ave a codename?"

" In Transylvania, I was sometimes known as 'Viper', so I suppose I do."

" So your mutant power is being a snake?"

" More or less."

" Huh?"

"Well I have retractable fangs. I can see in inferred if I wanted to. My reflexes are almost to fast to track, also I can spit venom like acid strong enough to melt steel. You know, the basic mutation."

" Oh yeah real basic luv." Toad said laughing.

" Well what's your mutation? I mean obviously it most be amphibian related, right?"

"You bet. I can leap and bound tremendous heights, climb walls, and spite this very toxic slime. You know the basics." Mort said smiling.

" Oh ha-ha very funny." Zakara replied sarcastically. " You know you're very bizarre."

" 'ow so?"

" Well asides from that pathetic pick-up line you tried on me, you've asked some very bizarre questions, why is that?"

Toad leaned in closer to her. "I didn't jus' come here looking fo' a date. My boss is looking fo' new members to recruit fo' the Brotherhood."

" What is the 'Brotherhood'?"

" Were a group of mutants tryin' to preserve mutant rights. So you wanna join?"

" I guess it would be a nice reprieve from what I'm doing now."

" Well wot do you do?"

" That is for me to know, and for you to find out." She said childishly, but still with a hint of mysteriousness.

" Right, I'll jus' call my boss Magneto and we'll be on our way back." Mort pulled out a cell phone from his jacket pocket and dialed Magneto. " 'ey boss I go' one… yeah she's amazin'… ok be right there, bye." "Everything's set lets go."

" I hope your boss will like me."

"Don't worry I'm sure he will."


	3. Chapter 3

1**Authors Note: This means someone's thought ( / )**

**Chapter 3:**

" Scream for pain." Sabertooth roared.

" Oh shut-up. Toad what in the hell did you call us here for? I was busy." Mystique snapped.

" He called you here because he said he's found a new member." Magneto said as he walked into the living room. " Isn't that right Toad?"

" Yeah, she's in the foyer, I'll go get 'er." Toad replied as he left the room. A few seconds later he returned with Zakara behind him. " Everybody this is Zakara." Mort said while stepping out of everyone's way.

" Way to go Toad you've managed to do something right for a change." Mystique smirked. Toad stuck out part of his very long tongue at her. She ignored it and acknowledged Zakara. " Nice to meet you Zakara. I'm Raven Darkholm, but you can call me Mystique if you want." / Yes finally a girl to hang out with, instead of two morons like Toad and Sabertooth./

" Nice to meet you to Miss. Darkholm." Sabertooth just grunted, but looked her over before turning back to the T.V.

" Oh don't mind Sabertooth, he's just sore from losing a fight." Mystique answered. Sabertooth growled but did not turn from the T.V.

" Does he have another name?"

" His real name is Victor Creed, but we normally call him Sabertooth."

Magneto walked up to her and took her hand. " Ahhh very pleased to meet you, Miss…." Magneto realized he didn't know her last name, and he always thought it was rude to address someone by their first name without their content.

" Macadra, but you may call me Zakara. And it's very nice to meet you sir."

" Please, call me Magneto. Now let's get down to business. What are your mutations?"

" I have reptilian like powers, mostly related to snakes."

" Ahhh just like Mr. Toynbee here." Mort cringed at the sound of his name.

" With no disrespect sir, Mortimer has amphibian like mutations not reptilian." This time Mort didn't cringe at the sound of his birth name, in fact he didn't mind at all because as much as he would hate to admit it he liked his name when it came from her mouth.

" Very good, you got around a trick question. You see my girl brains are just as important as bronze here, do you understand?"

" Yes sir."

" Wait then 'ow did Sabs' get in, I mean he's not exactly Einstein." Toad smirked.

"And you won't exactly have all of your limbs attached to your body if you keep that up runt." Sabertooth growled.

Ignoring Toad and Sabertooth's quarrel Magneto kept his attention to Zakara. " One more thing before you join. Can you fight?"

" With what? My weapons, my fists or my mutations?"

" Anyone."

" Well I can fight very well with any of them."

" Good, could you please demonstrate?"

"What? Here? Now?" Zakara said nervously.

" Yes I would like you to fight one of the other members, so I can see just how good you would be in a fighting situation."

Zakara leaned closer to Toad, and whispered to him " You never told me about this part."

" That's because I didn't know 'bout it. But don't worry I wont let anything 'appen to you."

She turned back to Magneto " So who do I have to fight?"

" Hmmmm, now lets see, how about Toad."

" Wot? Why me?" Toad complained.

Magneto ignored Toad. " You will fight each other in the Danger Room. And yes, weapons will be allowed along with your mutations. But please try not to seriously damage each other. Well let's go then shall we?"


	4. Chapter 4

1**Chapter 4:**

Toad stood at one end of the room and Zakara at the other, ready to fight. " You two know the rules. Have fun." Magneto announced over the intercom.

A voice box turned on after Magneto pressed a series of buttons. :Everybody ready? BEGIN:

Toad immediately jumped up, and in mid jump pulled out a long retractable Bo staff from a coat pocket. He landed right behind Viper, who had anticipated that he might do that, but still remained still. Toad swung the bar at her back legs in attempt to trip her, but instead of letting him hit her, she jumped up and landed on the staff, so that it flew out of Mort's hands and into hers. Viper then started to swing it above her, and as Toad watched her with a transfixed gaze, she swung her leg around his and yanked it forward, causing Mortimer to fall back and land on the floor. Zakara then immediately stopped swinging the Bo staff, and pinned it down on his neck so that he wouldn't be able to move unless he wanted it to go through him. Toad tried to spit his slime at her as a last resort, but Viper had pinned the bar down to tightly.

" To easy." Zakara said as she winked at Mort, causing him to blush heavily.

Magneto entered the room clapping his hands in approval. " Bravo. Very good Zakara, you obviously has what it takes to be in the Brotherhood, welcome aboard."

Zakara pulled away the bar so Toad could get up. " I'm in? Just like that?" She asked surprised that there wasn't more to it.

" Yes just like that." Magneto replied.

" Great I'm in." Zakara said happily. Viper turned around and hugged Mort, who was now blushing even harder than before.

Magneto interrupted their hug. " Yes, well then, Mr. Toynbee will show you to your quarters then."

Zakara let go of Toad and blushed heavily with embarrassment. /Get it together Zakara. You're a trained professional; you can't just fall out of line like that./

" Well I'm going to turn in for the night, I suggest you two do the same, it's been a long day." Magneto said before he began to leave.

Zakara stopped him. " Wait, what about my things?"

" All of your prior possessions from your motel room are in your new room, ready to be unpacked. I had Mystique and Sabertooth find and receive them while you two were fighting."

After Magneto left Toad spoke to Viper. " Well then, I'll show you to your room then."

Toad and Zakara were walking down the hall towards her new room when she spoke. " Mortimer…"

" Yeah?"

" I'm sorry."

Mort turned his head in her direction with a look of concern on his face. " Fo' wot luv?"

" For hugging you in front of Magneto. Or for hugging you at all for that matter."

Toad lightly blushed. " It's fine luv, actually," He began while clearing his throat. "I kind of liked it."

" What?" Zakara said smiling. / Toad you bloody idiot, you can't jus' go out and say shit like tha'. Get a hold o' yerself. /

" Oh look here's your room. How convenient." He mumbled the last thing.

" What was that?" Full aware on what he had just said.

" Nothing."

Zakara turned the doorknob and took a step into the room, but she turned around and told Mortimer. " Thank you for helping me today. It's going to be nice to get away from my other job for a while. You were a great help on my behalf."

" No problem luv."

" Goodnight Mortimer."

" Call me Mort." Zakara smiled. " Night Z."

'Z' she kind of liked it when he called her that. " Goodnight." She whispered as she closed the door until tomorrow

**Authors Note:**

**Sorry for the short chapters people. But have no fear they will get better and longer. Remember patients is a virtue. Please R&R.**


	5. Chapter 5

1**Chapter 5:**

Zakara woke up earlier than she would have normally because she wanted to have everything unpacked and a pot of tea made before everyone else was up. Her things only took about 10 minutes to unpack, but she still had to admit that it looked pretty good when she was done. After a quick shower and was dressed, Zakara grabbed a C.D. off her dresser, and tiptoed out of her room to the Danger Room. Zakara went up to the control room, and after several minutes of searching finally found a C.D. consol. She popped the C.D. in, and went down to the lower level to practice. A minute later the C.D. began to play the same waltz from the movie 'Van Helsing.' And just on cue Zakara began dancing to it just like Anna and Dracula did. Viper did not know she was being watched this entire time by a certain green mutant.

/ I've never seen anyone dance like tha' with such grace or agility. God she's beautiful. No, bad Toad, she'd never fall fo' a bloke like you. Only reason she came here wos 'cause she said it would be " a nice reprieve" from 'er prior job, wotever tha' is. /

About a second after Toad stopped thinking to himself, Zakara finished the dance buy "dipping" herself just as if someone were to dip her herself. Without realizing what he was doing, Mort began to clap. As soon as Zakara heard him she did a back flip so that she was in a complete upright position. Mortimer immediately stopped clapping, cursing himself for his stupidity.

/ Way to go Mort. She wosen't supposed to know you were here. /

Zakara looked around but saw no one. She then changed her eyes so that she could see in inferred, so she could scope the area. In the far corner of the room she could make out a human figure. But when she shifted her eyes back to normal they were gone. Zakara started towards it, and as she neared it she transformed her tongue into a snakes so that she could detect who was there. After a few flicks of her tongue she knew exactly who it was. She transformed her tongue back into human form, then called out " Alright I know your there come out."

Zakara waited, then after a series of beeps and clicks, Toad appeared with a small black disk in his hands. Zakara put her hands on her hips, slightly peeved at him. " How long have you been watching me?"

Mort could see she was pissed, but didn't want to make her angrier than she already was, so told her the plain truth, " Since you started."

Zakara was very surprised that he had told her the truth, and it showed. Mort quickly added, " You were amazin' luv."

Zakara took her hands off her hips and smiled back to him. " Thank you, but it does look better with a partner."

" Well you coulda fooled me luv. You looked fine doing it by your self."

" Mortimer, would you mind being my partner?"

" Wot?"

" Would you dance with me? It's been years since I've actually danced with a partner."

" Luv I can't dance."

" Everybody can dance."

" 'Cept me."

" Come on. This is a simple waltz. I can teach you in no time." Viper said as she approached him.

" I don't know about his luv."

" Please." She whispered.

" Alright." Zakara took his hand and pulled him close to her. Mort had never actually been this close to a woman as pretty as Zakara. So as you can imagine he was as nervous as hell.

" OK, first put your arm up like this and lock it with mine." Toad did it. " Now, put your hand around my waist." Mort froze, but not wanting to seem like an ass, he shakily put his hand around her waist. He'd never felt such great curves on a woman before. The fact that she wore a corset may have had something to do with it, but still even without the corset she probably would have still looked amazing. In the meantime, Zakara had slid her arm up his, " Now follow my lead." She had been right, the dance was easy. In no time both of them were dancing like professionals.

" I thought you said you couldn't dance?"

" Maybe your jus' a really good teacher."

" Or perhaps you're just a very good liar."

Mort dipped her slowly just like he had seen her do it herself. He bent his head down so they were eye to eye. " Luv, I suck at lying. Believe me you'd know if I wos." Mort smiled. Zakara looked in his eyes, he was telling the truth, she could tell. His eyes were so deep, and full of memories. He had nice eyes, most people would probably be afraid of them, but she was intrigued by them. Transfixed by them. Zakara smiled back. The song had ended about 3 minutes ago, and was now playing another song from the ' Van Helsing' soundtrack. Realizing that she was still in a 'dipped' position she said, " You can let me up now."

" Right." Mortimer pulled her up, but did it so quickly that she flew into him, knocking them both on the ground. She fell on top of him, hard, but she was very light. Viper looked down at Mortimer for a moment, them quickly got off him both of them blushing with embarrassment. She reached her hand out to him and he took it. With great ease she pulled him up. " Sorry 'bout tha' luv." Toad said still blushing slightly.

" It's quite all right." " You wouldn't happen to drink tea by any chance would you?"

" I'm British."

" I'll take that as a 'yes' then." She said as they walked to the kitchen.

**Authors Note:**

**PLEASE tell me what you thought of this chap. THANKS!**


	6. Chapter 6

1**Authors Note:**

**HAPPY HOLIDAY'S EVERYBODY!**

**Chapter 6:**

Zakara was sitting on her bed polishing her sword when she heard a faint knock on her door. Getting up with the sword still in her hands she opened the door to find Mort leaning against the frame. " Hello Mort."

" 'ey Z. Magneto wanted me to give ya a tour o' the place when your no' busy. Can you take it now?"

" Sure, just give me a moment." Zakara took a step back to sheath her sword. She easily slid it in its holster on her hip.

" 'ave you always 'ad tha' with you?"

" Yes, I use it for part of my other job."

" Well wot in the bloody 'ell kind o' job 'as you carry a sword 'round fo'?" Mort exclaimed.

"Mine." She replied calmly. " Now are you going to show me around, or interrogate me?"

" Right, jus' curious is all."

" Curiosity killed the cat."

" Well then, I guess I'm safe, 'cause I ain't nothin' like Sabertooth." Zakara let out a small laugh. / Wow she 'as a pretty laugh. /

" That's mean." She said smiling.

" True though. 'ey I came here to give you a tour."

" Yes you did." She replied as he led her out the door.

**Authors Note:**

**Sorry if this chapter sucked people. Yeah I know it was incredibly short, but, ummm…….. look free meat products.**


	7. Chapter 7

1**Chapter 7:**

The tour only lasted about half an hour. The place was pretty basic. Asides from the fact that mutant terrorists lived there, and that they had a Danger Room and a garage full of aircrafts. Which Toad and Viper were now standing in.

" If I'm no' in my room, I'll be in here working."

" And how often are you in here?"

" Most o' the time." Zakara took a step towards one of the helicopters with a bent propeller.

" What happened?" She asked motioning to the damaged machine.

Toad blushed, " I hit it comin' in. Bloody horrible vision I 'ave." " Magneto wont bend it back, even though he 'as control over all metals, the lazy git. And Mystique and Sabertooth jus' don't care. I've been workin' on it fo' days, but I've ran out of ideas."

Zakara looked at it again, " I could fix that." She murmured.

" Come again?"

" I said I could fix that."

" Luv, if you can fix tha', then I'll ask Sabs out on a date."

" And if I can't?"

Mort though for a moment, then with an evil grin said, " If you can't fix it then you 'ave to ask Mystique out." Zakara stuck out her hand and he took it.

" Deal." Zakara walked over to the helicopter. She climbed up the side to the top of it where the bent propeller was. She stared at it for a long time, then with both hands she grabbed it, and bent it back to it's original position, like it was a thin piece of aluminum foil. Mort's jaw dropped, not just because he lost the bet, but also because he'd never seen anyone that could do something as hard as that so easily. Zakara stood on top of the helicopter and jumped off it landing in a completely upright position. Toad's jaw dropped lower, because it was a high enough jump that unless you had extreme jumping abilities, you would have surly broken something, but she just jumped off it like she was only an inch off the ground.

Zakara walked over to Mortimer and whispered, " You know snakes are made up of nearly all muscle, and so am I. You lost that bet as soon as you made it." She smiled and closed his mouth, before she went back to her room to finish polishing her sword.

**Authors note:**

**He-He that was so much fun making Toad lose the bet. Anyways look forward in the upcoming chapters for …. Whoops I almost told you, silly me. Note to self- hit self with sausage protect PLEASE R&R**.


	8. Chapter 8

1**Chapter 8:**

Mystique and Zakara were sitting at the kitchen table talking over cups of coffee. " So how do you like it here?" Mystique questioned.

" I like it."

" Do you like us?"

" Yes, especially Mortimer. I don't know it's just, like he knows me…. It's weird."

" You call him by his first name?" Mystique wondered in amazement.

" Yes, why? Is that uncommon?"

" He doesn't even let Magneto call him that, and he only just met you a couple days ago. So yes it's very uncommon."

" Oh, I didn't know."

" Speaking of the devil, look who just walked in." And sure enough there he was, standing in the doorway. Zakara knew what his intentions were, and she gave him a small smile and nod of her head. Toad walked over to Sabertooth, who was watching something on 'Animal Planet'. Mort stood in front of the TV blocking his view. Sabertooth just looked down and glared at him, with the whole ' yeah, what' look.

" Ummm, Vic, I wos wonderin', if you would…"

" Get on with it."

" Will you go out on a date with me?" Toad cringed. Mystique broke out into a hysterical laugh, looking like she would pee herself any second. Sabertooth got up off the couch, looked straight at Toad, and punched him square in the eye, immediately knocking him out. Mort landed with a thump on the floor. Victor looked down briefly at him, then roughly kicked him in the rib-cage. After that he left the room with a vicious snarl that said ' Look at me and I'll break your spine.' Zakara was speechless. Mystique had finally finished her giggle fit, and was now looking at the damage Sabertooth had done.

" He'll be fine." Mystique assured a very solemn Zakara.

" Are you sure?"

" Don't worry, he'll be fine. Look I gotta go, catch you later?"

" Yes." Zakara forced a smile to her new friend. As soon as she was sure that Mystique was gone she rushed over to Mort's side. Viper looked around the room for signs of anybody. As soon as she was sure no one was there, she picked up Mort and carried him to her bedroom.

**Authors Note:**

**OMG that was just so much fun to write. And what will Mort and Zakara do in her bedroom? NOT TELLING YOU read it and find out yourself. I'll post up the next chapter soon I promise. But first I need to know can I use the song 'Once Upon a December' in my story? It's very important that I know this; I don't want to get in trouble again. Thank you! Oh and please R&R.**


	9. Chapter 9

1**Authors Note: IMPORTANT!**

**I read the rules countless times for submitting fanfictions, and I understand that plagiarism of writing or lyrics is prohibited by any means. However I would like to know for songs if you mean any songs or just songs created by other fanfictioners. Because in this chapter I use the song " Once Upon A December" from Anastasia, and I'm very afraid I'm going to be banned for using it. So if I broke a rule my sincerest apologies, if not fantastic. Anyways on with the story.**

**Chapter 9:**

Toad was laying on Zakara's bed still unconscious, and Zakara was dabbing a washcloth over the eye that Sabertooth had hit. She began humming a song that was sung to her as far back as she could remember, then, slowly she began to sing it.

_Dancing Bears,_

_Painted wings,_

_Things I almost remember._

_And a song someone sings,_

_Once upon a December._

_Someone holds me safe and warm._

_Horses prance through a silver storm._

_Figures dancing gracefully,_

_Across my memory._

_Far away, long ago._

_Glowing dim as an ember, _

_Things my heart used to know,_

_Things it yearns to remember._

_And a song,_

_Someone sings,_

_Once upon a De-ce-em-ber._

Her voice was like an angel, pure and beautiful. Mort slowly opened his eyes and murmured " Your a real good singer luv." Zakara snapped out of her 'song trance' coming back to the real world.

" I did not know you were awake." She said calmly, ignoring the compliment he gave her.

" I've been awake fo' a while, jus' 'urt to open my eyes."

" Yes Mr. Creed certainly did a number on you." Viper replied while rubbing some kind of medicine under his eye. " You know, I was not serious about that bet I had made, I was only kidding."

" So-kay, Sabs done worse to me."

" Still, I do fell guilty about it."

" Don' be."

The room was silent for a moment, not awkward silent, but in a calm and peaceful manner. Zakara lowered her gaze to the floor, embarrassed by what she was about to say. " Mortimer…"

" Yeah luv."

" I need you to take your shirt off." / God this is so embarrassing, Perhaps I should have just ignored the fact that Sabertooth had kicked him. No, he could be hurt, better be safe and check. /

Toad blinked. / Cor, where's this leading to/ " Why luv?" Toad asked calmly.

" Because after Sabertooth knocked you out, he kicked you, and I wanted to make sure nothing was broken."

" I'm fine luv, really. Jus' a little sore is all, like I said he's done worse to me."

" Still, I would like to check. I would fell terrible if something were to happen to you because of an injure you may have received thanks to me."

" Your not going to let me go 'till I show you, huh?"

" Probably not."

" OK fine." Toad sat up, and took off his jacket. Then he pulled his shirt over his head and took it off. For a short guy who hunched over a lot, he certainly had the body to make up for it. It took all of Zakara's willpower not to stare. Slowly she reached out her hands to feel his ribs. As soon as she slide her hand over his chest, Mort flinched. Zakara immediately pulled back.

" Sorry, did I hurt you?"

" No, I'm jus' no' real used to people touching me without tryin' to 'urt me."

" I can assure you I will not hurt you." Zakara reached out again and very slowly ran her fingers along his chest. After a few LONG minutes she made her conclusion. " Well, from the outside they appear to look fine. But I would like to check one more thing… if you don't mind."

" Eh, go fo' it." Zakara shifted her eyes to her inferred vision. Her emerald green eyes turned crystal blue, giving her a very eerie look. She looked intensely at his chest for several moments. Finally she shifted her eyes back to their prior look. " So, 'ows it look?"

" Luckily nothing is broken. But, you've bruised your ribs and eye very badly, and after the medicine wears off you'll probably feel very sore. Other than that your fine."

" Go' it. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get back to the hanger to work on some repairs." Mort said while pulling his shirt and jacket back on.

" Fine, but please be careful."

/ Wot's she care if I'm careful o' not? Maybe she does… No, stop. Damn, she's jus' bein' nice. But, maybe…/ " Will do luv." Mort smiled as he left the room.

**Authors Note:**

**So what did you think? Please R&R. And sorry again if I broke a rule.**


	10. Chapter 10

1**Authors Note:**

**OMFG! I rented Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever from Blockbuster today, and Ray was awesome. The movie wasn't half bad, but who cares about that? I was to busy staring at Ray (Who plays A.J. Ross by the way) and all of his sexiness. I watched the big fight scene between him and Sever over 30 times! And do you want to know what she did to my precious Ray? She broke his neck! Can you believe it? I was literarily crying, and I rarely do that. Still it was amazing to watch him do all those martial arts moves. Anyways on with the story.**

**Chapter 10:**

It was late. 12:00 at night to be precise, when Zakara found the letter on her dresser.

_We need you back Mrs. Macadra. Your jet is waiting for you outside._ That was all the letter had said. It wasn't signed by anyone, but she knew whom it was from. She also didn't need to know how it got there; "They" had their ways. Zakara walked strait to Magneto's office after she read the letter. She was just outside his door when she realized/ Wait. It's the middle of the night, he's probably asleep. And if he's not then he's probably too busy to talk right now. / While Viper was rethinking things over, Magneto had sensed someone was at the door, he notified Zakara, " Come in." Zakara casually opened the door and walked into his office, slightly surprised that he had noticed her standing outside.

" Oh, Zakara, it's you. Here please take a seat." Magneto said kindly as he motioned to a chair in front of his desk. " Now is there something I can do for you?"

" Mr. Lencher, I really hate to ask you this. Especially since I've just arrived, but I'm afraid I've received a letter asking for me to return to Romania for a while."

" Is it urgent?"

" Yes sir it is."

" May I ask, why are you leaving so soon?"

" I'm sorry sir, but I'm not authorized to say. But lets just say that if I don't go there could be some serious complications."

" Well in that case I guess I don't have much of a choice."

" Thank you. I know Romania will be very grateful to you for this, as will I."

" Your quite welcome. But, I would like it if another member went with you. Just in case you were to get into serious danger."

Zakara was about to protest, but then thought that Magneto might not let her go if she refused. " Who?" She asked flatly.

" Bring Toad. You two seem to be getting along quite well. And who knows, he may be of an assistance to you there."

She doubted it, but didn't say anything. " Alright."

" I'll get Toad for you." Magneto said as he picked up a phone off his desk.

" Please tell him to meet me outside by the docks, and that he won't need anything. And thank you again." Zakara said as he began to dial the phone, before she let the room.

**Authors Note:**

**I know this chapter probably sucked, but I have good news. From here on out the chapters will be MUCH more interesting. I PROMISE YOU! Please R&R**


	11. Chapter 11

1**Authors Note: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, but I had E.L.A midterms. Not to mention I was sick with a sinus infection. So don't blame me blame bad New York and there crappy weather and mandatory tests.**

**Chapter 11:**

It was fast he knew it. Something deep inside him told him so. As soon as he laid eyes on it he felt a rush of adrenalin surge through his body. It was as black as the night itself, and seemed to be more advanced than the own military's jets. Without a word they boarded the craft.

The inside was just as advanced as the outside. Multiple built-in monitors and T.V. screens lined the sidewalls. Directly in front of them were the pilots and co- pilots seats. Mort was in awe over the entire thing, never had he seen a jet as sophisticated as this one. Zakara could have sworn she saw a spark flash in his eyes.

" Do you like it?" Toad couldn't say anything so he merely nodded his head. Zakara walked over to the control panel and began pressing a variety of buttons and switches. In almost an instant the jet had risen into the air, and was now going at Mack. 50. Toad hadn't even noticed that they had already taken off until Zakara called from the pilots seat " You know, you can sit down, it will be a while until we get to Rome."

" Rome? I thought we were going to Romania?" Mort asked as he sat down.

" We are." Zakara said barley above a whisper.

Mort knew something was going on. Zakara was acting extremely strange. " Z, wot's goin' on?" He asked with great concern.

Viper thought for a moment on how to tell him, then had an idea. " Do you remember when you asked me what my job was and I wouldn't tell you?" Toad didn't say anything but listened very closely. " I wouldn't tell you because I couldn't tell you. No one is supposed to know what I do. But now, since Magneto has forced me to bring someone along I guess I have no choice." Zakara took a deep breath before answering, " Mort, I'm the Left Hand Of God."

**Authors Note: **

**Ah yes another short chapter, and damn those cliffes. But hey, now were getting somewhere, huh? Yeah, I thought so too. Sports caster voice comes on " Toon in next time for an another chapter of " Zakara"."**

**P.S: Dr. Phil will be joining us next time to help me with my Ray Park problem!**


	12. Chapter 12

1**Authors Note:**

**It's Reorganization Day at my school so that means I don't have school today, Yay! So what does that mean? More chapters, Yay! I would personally like to thank BeastBoyBlitz for sending me the sites for the awesome Ray Park pics. Lets give her a big round of applause (people clap for a long time.) OK anyways I told you all that I would be having Dr. Phil join me for a few chapters, to help me with my horrible Ray Park obsession. I kidnaped him when he was making pasta for the homeless shelter. So please everyone give a big round of applause to Dr. Phil! (Everyone starts to clap.) (Dr. Phil is tied to a chair with very heavy iron chains.) Thank you so much for agreeing to help me Dr. Phil!"**

" **I didn't agree to help you! You kidnaped me when I was making dinner for my family! But you do seem like you really need help, so I guess I'll help you."**

" **YAY! OK, we'll I need to get to my story, find out what happens next after you read this chapter."**

**Chapter 12:**

" Mort I'm the Left Hand Of God." He didn't know what to say. Obviously he knew this had to be something very important, but still he hadn't a clue to what it meant. Zakara saw the look of confusion on his face and added, " My life, my job is to vanquish evil." Toad had heard that somewhere else before, he just couldn't place where. Viper knew this was getting nowhere, but she then figured out a way to explain. She remembered a movie she saw the first time she visited America. ' Van Helsing.' It wasn't a bad movie; in fact she liked it very much. Probably because everything about it was true, no matter what people said. Unlike all the other " horror" movies which bored her to no end, because of the falseness in them. " Have you ever seen the movie ' Van Helsing'?" Zakara asked hopefully. Toad knew he'd heard that phrase before, from the movie ' Van Helsing.'

" Yeah, no' a bad movie."

" Do you remember the scene where Van Helsing goes to Rome, and the Cardinal said ' When we found you crawling up these steps half dead, it was clear to all of us that you had been sent here to do god's work.'"

" Yeah."

" Lets just say I'm the next Van Helsing."

" You've go' to be kidding me." Mort couldn't believe what he was hearing.

" I'm afraid not."

" I didn't know monsters actually existed."

" Since time in immemorial. The Knights Of The Holy Order have convinced most of the outside world that they don't exist. And they have ordered Romania, the source where most evil lay, to act as though monsters don't exist."

" Bu' why no' let people know? Then the governments can take care o' it?"

" Are you insane! Do you know how dangerous that would be? People think they know about monsters, but most things they've learned are false. Sending them into kill these creatures would be like having them sign there own death warrant." Her voice rose slightly making her accent sound more distinctive.

" Good point. So, do you 'ave the ring, o' is tha' jus' part o' the movie?"

" Yes." And sure enough there it was on her left hand ring finger. It was a fairly large ring. Circular, and made of silver and black onyx. In the very center of it was a dragon facing the left, much like Van Helsing's did. " Why?"

" Well, I'm no' sure if this means anythin' bu', I 'ave a ring fairly similar to wot you 'ave." Mort raised his right hand reveling a ring on the same finger. The only difference was that the dragon on his faced to the right.

Zakara's eyes widened to that of an owl. She immediately grabbed hi hand, nearly pulling him out of his seat, and began to examine the ring extremely closely. " Where did you get this ring?"

" A long time ago, when I trained wif' some monks at a dojo in the mountains. They gave it to me on my last day, said somthin' in a different language when they gave it to me. Why?"

" It's because you're the Right Hand Of God." She whispered.

**Authors Note:**

"**Ah, yes another cliffy chapter. Anyways while you guys were reading Dr. Phil has been talking to me about my obsession, and I think were getting somewhere. Isn't that right Dr. Phil?"**

" **Well I can diffidently say you do have an obsession problem."**

" **Can you blame me? He's so delicious."**

" **Yes, we'll you do know he's 31, married, and has a kid?"**

" **Oh, umm what were you saying?"**

" **Never mind."**

" **We'll that's all the time we have for today. See you next time!"**

" **Can I go home now?"**

" **Not until you help me."**

" **You are far beyond help. You should see a professional."**

" **You are a professional."**

**/ Damn she's not as dumb as I thought. / " Fine I'll stay and help you more."**

" **YAY! (Does a retarded dance for the rest of the time.)**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	13. Chapter 13

1**Authors Note:**

**Yes I know that Wolverine and Van Helsing are both played by the same person. Just in case anyone was gonna tell me that. But I don't care! My story my rules.**

**Chapter 13:**

" It's because you're the Right Hand Of God." Those words shot through him like a bullet. He couldn't be the Right Hand Of God. No way in hell. He was an assassin, a murderer, a mutant. But not some warrior of god.

" Are you sure?"

" No, I'm not. But, we can find out as soon as we get to the abyss."

" 'Ow long 'till we ge' there?"

" We've been here for twenty minutes. This thing goes at Mack. 50, and I had it on auto pilot." Mort looked out the window and saw a huge monastery in front of them. It looked exactly like the one from 'Van Helsing'. It was large and circular, and looked like something time had forgotten. But, still it held its beauty, of stained glassed designs, and spectacular carvings of Jesus, angels, and crucifixes. Mort felt like he had been sucked into a different world. Zakara gently tapped his arm. " Are you ready?"

" Lets go."

**Authors Note:**

**Yeah, I know this was an incredibly short chapter, but I promise the next one will be much longer. Oh and in case you were wondering where Dr. Phil was, he escaped. Yeah, when I went to go check on him he was gone. I probably should have pulled the chains tighter. Oh well, I'll guess I'll just have to stay obsessed with Ray Park. (Insert FAKE sadness here.). PLEASE REVIEW!**


	14. Chapter 14

1**Authors Note:**

**I worked really hard on this chapter and I hope you all like it. I just wanted to remind you Cardinal Jinnet does NOT belong to me. Plus I will be using some quotes from the ' Van Helsing' movie, with a few alterations, so just keep that in mind.**

**Chapter 14:**

Mort and Zakara walked down the large corridor to the abyss. Along the way, Mort saw several monks all dressed in red robes with red hats. They were all walking in small groups praying and chanting in another language. Zakara barley noticed them, or didn't care, Toad couldn't tell which. A minute later Zakara and Mort stopped at a confession stand. She leaned on the ledge of it, and blessed herself, making the sign of the cross. " Bless me father, for I have -." She was cut off.

" Sinned, yes I know, your very good at it." Viper cringed. The metal window slats turned slightly to revel an aging man. He was at least 50, maybe even older. He was wearing a red robe and hat just like everyone else. The only thing that he had on that no one else did was a large crucifix hanging from his neck. " You shattered the Rose's window."

" Not to split hairs sir, but it was Mr. Hyde's son who did the shattering." Mort felt like he was replaying a scene from the ' Van Helsing' movie. Only Zakara looked like Anna.

" 13th century, over 600 years old. Already broken once by Van Helsing, god rest his soul, and now you have also broken it. And it had only been fixed for barley over 200 years. I wish you a week in hell for that."

" It would be a nice reprieve." Zakara sneered.

" Don't get me wrong, your results are unquestionable. But your methods attract far too much attention. People have seen you, we are not pleased. And now you've brought an outsider here." The man motioned to Toad.

Zakara ignored the fact that Mort was still there. " What you think I enjoy this? Why don't you and the Order do something about it?" The man raised the iron window completely, leaned out and said, " Because we do not exist." He said this in a deathly calm tone.

" Well then neither do I."

Zakara turned around to leave, but the man pressed a button from behind the counter, and a huge iron gate came crashing down in front of her. " When we found you crawling up these steps half dead, it was clear to all of us that you had been sent here to do god's work." He made the sign of the cross as he said this.

" Why can't he do it himself?"

" Don't blaspheme. It's a wonder you already lost your memory as a penance for you're past sins. If you wish to retrieve what you have lost I suggest you heed your call." He pressed another button from behind the booth, and a secret door opened up. He began to walk down it. Toad and Viper followed. The room was full of men in women, all dressed in red robes, working on an assortment of different things. There were multiple machines scattered across the room. And there were beakers and bottles filled with an assortment of different liquids. " Without us the world would be in darkness. Governments and empires come and go. But we, we have kept mankind safe since time in immemorial. We are the last defense against the darkness. A darkness that the rest of the world doesn't even knows exists." The man stopped briefly at a table to check on some chemicals that were brewing in a large beaker.

" To you these monsters are just evil creatures waiting to be vanquished. But I'm the one standing there when they die, and become the men they once were." Zakara said this with a slight hint of sadness in her voice.

" For you this is all just a test of faith. Now, will you please tell me who this is, and why he is here?" The man asked pointing to Toad.

" Mort, this is Cardinal Jinnette. Jinnette, this is Mortimer Toynbee." Cardinal Jinnette bowed his head slightly to Mort, and Mort bowed back. " Now as to the fact on why he's here, I have reason to believe that he may be the ' Right Hand Of God'." The entire abyss fell dead quite, you could've heard a pin drop. Cardinal Jinnette's eyes widened and his mouth hung open slightly. He quickly straightened himself. " Are you positive?" He asked with great interest.

" He has the ring."

" But the ring does not mean that he is who you say he is." By now Toad was extremely confused and agitated over the whole ordeal. Not paying attention he screamed " WILL SOMEONE TELL MY WOT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON?" Mort forgot he was in a monastery, until he saw all the looks from everyone else. He mentally scolded himself, and told himself to not do that again.

Jinnette had a sour look on his face. " Very well, but do not blaspheme again. Come."

All three of them walked over to an overhead screen. Jinnette snapped his fingers and immediately a picture of God and the Devil appeared. " Since before time in immemorial there has been a battle between the forces of light and dark. Or good and evil. Now obviously God and Satan are the main forces for both sides, and because they can't always fight each other head on, they have chosen one person each to be there essential warrior. Miss. Macadra is the ' Left Hand Of God' or God's warrior. And you Mr. Toynbee are the ' Right Hand Of God' or Satan's warrior." Jinnette snapped his fingers again and a picture of two people fighting in armor appeared on the screen. " They are both mortal enemies, sworn to vanquish one another. It was written that the darkness would someday overcome the light, and the ' Right Hand Of God' will one day kill the ' Left Hand Of God'."

" Bu' I would never 'urt 'Z'." Mort insisted.

" Yes, well, we still aren't sure if you truly are it or not."

" There mus' be someway to be able to find ou'."

" There is." Zakara said. " Jinnette do you still have the sword?"

" Of course." Jinnette said as he raised his finger like a scientist does when he's just made an important discovery. Jinnette walked away to a back room and came out a few minutes later with a beautifully handcrafted sword. " In history there was one other person of the ' Right Hand Of God', Vladius Loss, Dragula."

" Dracula?" Toad whispered in amazement.

" Yes, the very son of the Devil himself."

" An' let me guess, Van Helsing was the other person fo' the ' Left Hand O' Go''?"

" How did you know that?" Jinnette questioned.

" The ' Van Helsing' movie." Zakara remarked.

" So 'ow do I know if I'm it o' no'?"

" Here take this." Jinnette handed Mortimer the sword. It was exactly like Zakara's, long, beautiful, and razor sharp deadly. Forged of pure silver, and engraved with various designed of crosses and other designs. The grip of the sword had the same picture as his ring, a dragon facing to the right. As soon as Toad grabbed onto it, he felt a rush of power surge through his entire body, like he'd never felt before. Then, almost as if a slide show was running through his head, pictures of war, execution, pain, suffering, and blood played through his mind. It seemed like forever until the horrific images stopped.

" It is true, you are the ' Right Hand Of God'." Cardinal Jinnet exclaimed.

" I can't believe it." Zakara whispered.

" Really, I am?"

" Your ring began to glow red as soon as you grabbed the sword. The one true way to find out if you were it or not." Jinnette explained.

" So wot now?"

" We find out what the new assignment is." Viper inquired.

" You cannot be seriously thinking about bringing him with you. It is much too dangerous."

" Look, just because some proclamation was written, doesn't mean that it will come true." Zakara retorted.

" Hmmmm, very well. There has been resent attacks in Transylvania. They seem to be from a vampire, but that's all we know so far. We need you two to go there and kill this creature."

" No problem." Zakara shrugged.

" Not entirely. This vampire is unlike any other vampire. It's already killed 10 people this month. Triple the amount of any normal vampire."

" Fine. Mort are you up for this?"

" Sure 'Z'." Mort smiled as he tried to hand the sword back to Cardinal Jinnet.

" No, this is rightfully yours. Here is the holster for it." Jinnet said as he handed him a long silver case with a black leather strap attacked to it.

" Ugh, thanks." Mort said as he slide the sword into the holster and fastened it to his waist.

"One more thing. Tonight is All Hallows Eve masquerade ball. I suggest you start there."

" Oh yes, I forgot that was tonight. We should be done by tomorrow evening."

" Good luck to you both." Zakara and Mort left the abyss and boarded the jet to Transylvania. Mort didn't say a word; he just kept staring at his newly obtained sword, wondering how he could have possibly be the Devil's warrior.

**Authors Note:**

**So what did you think? This was by far the longest chapter I've written yet. Let me know how I did. Please R&R!**

**- OBEY THE FIST!**


	15. Chapter 15

1**Authors Note: OMG I'm a horrible speller. I was bored so I decided to read my own story last week, and GOD, I can't believe you all actually bothered to continue this. I think my spelling only started to improve on chapter 13 and up. I'll try a lot harder to spell things better.**

**Chapter 15:**

Zakara landed the jet in a large open field just outside of the town. As soon as they got off it Viper pulled out a small remote from a coat pocket sewn on the inside. She pressed one of the many buttons and almost in an instant the jet disappeared. Toad's eyes widened in amazement. Zakara saw how surprised he was, " Stealth mode."

" Oh, shoulda' figured." He said dumbly.

" Comes in handy at times. Come on." Zakara and Mort began walking to the village. There were a few hills separating them from the small town, so Toad didn't see the huge and beautiful castle until they reached the top. It was the most beautiful castle he'd ever laid eyes on. Actually it was the only castle he'd ever laid eyes on, except in books. The entire place must have been the size of the Brotherhood's island. There were at least 100 windows, many with beautiful stained glass designs. The castle was made out of stone, but it didn't look crudely cut. In fact it looked like it had been sanded down, so that it was as smooth as glass. It stood on top of a large mountain overlooking the village below.

" Wow." Was all he managed to say.

" Yeah, I pretty much said the same thing when I inherited it." Zakara said nonchalantly.

" Tha's your 'ouse!" Mort exclaimed.

" Yes. Apparently Van Helsing's last wish was that the next 'Left Hand Of God' be given this castle. No one knows why, but the Order thinks that whatever the reason it must be very important."

" It's beautiful."

" Thank you. Now, ready to meet the villagers?" Zakara said changing the subject.

" The' won' try to 'urt me jus' 'cause I'm a mutant will they?" Toad asked nervously, remembering how the villagers in the ' Van Helsing' movie had acted upon the arrival of Van Helsing and Carl.

" No, of course not." Zakara laughed. " In fact there are several mutants here. Some of which I've brought in so that they could escape their harsh or boring life of their homeland."

" Huh, I would've figured tha' they'd be afraid o' mutants."

" They were at first, but then I showed them that they had nothing to fear. Actually… they were more afraid of me when I first came here."

" Your retractable fangs?" Toad questioned.

" Yes, but then a vampire attacked the village and after I killed it they realized that I wasn't one of them and they excepted me."

" 'ey are you actually Romanian, o' did you jus' pick up the accent?"

" Transylvanian, and yes. I found out from the Order about a year ago. But that's almost all I know of my self. The rest is unknown. I'll spend hours combing through the towers, staring at the archives left there. Just looking for any clue about my past."

" You think you'll ever find out?"

" I hope so. To have no memory of your past is perhaps one of the most cruel fates anyone can endure."

**Authors Note:**

**Yeah, I know this chapter was short, and you'll probably are getting' annoyed with the cliffs but I have my reasons why I do this. You'll just have to read more to find out.**

**- OBEY THE FIST!**


	16. Chapter 16

1**Chapter 16:**

/Zakara 'ad been righ', the villagers 'ad been accepting o' me bein' a mutan'./ Toad thought as Zakara showed him around the castle. The inside was even more beautiful than the outside. Multiple tapestries and paintings were hung on the walls of the long hall they were walking down. Mostly of Dracula or of the Valerios family that had lived here in the 1800's. However there were two of Zakara. The first painting was of her from the waist up. She was facing to the side, looking away from the camera or painter giving her a stunning appearance. The second picture Mort saw was of her in a beautiful white sundress sitting on a dock barefoot, swinging her feet over the side just barely skimming the water. She was looking down, but you could see her smile off the reflection of the water. Whoever had done these sure had some talent. /God, she's as beautiful on a canvas as she is in real life./ " Mort, are you alright?" Zakara asked when she saw how mesmerized he was by the paintings.

" Yeah, never better." Toad looked at Zakara smiling.

Zakara smiled back. " We should get ready. The Masquerade will start in a little while."

" Righ'." Mort said clearing the smile from his face.

" OK, follow me." Zakara led Mort to her bedroom on the second floor. It was huge. There was a king sized bed pushed up against one of the walls. There was a handcrafted mahogany dresser and matching wardrobe coated with a thin layer of varnish, making it look very shiny. Off in the far corner of the room was a connecting bathroom, and on the other side of the room, near her bed, was a sogi screen. The floor was also made from mahogany with a thin layer of varnish covering it, and everything in the room was red, gold, or black. Straight across from them was a pair of French panned doors that opened up to an outside balcony. Zakara walked over to the wardrobe and began to go through the clothes in it. About a minute later she pulled out this incredible suit.

The pants were midnight black just like the shirt. The shirt had a small stand up collar to it, and there were multiple gold buckles and chains that hung from it. There was also a floor length jacket that was a black as a vampire's soul on the outside, and made of gold silk on the inside. " This should fit you. It once belonged to Dracula, and you two seem to be about the same size." Zakara handed the clothes to Toad, who pretty much was utterly shocked that she expected him to wear this. " I'll be back in about twenty minutes, I just need to take care of some things."

" Go' it." Toad murmured. Zakara left the room leaving him all alone. " There's no bloody way in 'ell tha' I'm goin' te go to some ball." He murmured to himself.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The twenty minutes had passed and Toad was waiting for Zakara out on the balcony. The view was amazing. Nothing but fields and forests coated in snow covered the ground. About a mile out was a large mass of mountains also covered in snow. Just beyond them he could make out an outline of a massive body of water. A stunning sunset was setting behind the mountains. Though it was cold out Mort felt very warm and relaxed.

" Mort, are you in here?" Zakara called out from inside the bedroom.

" Yeah, 'm over here." He called out. Toad turned around to face Viper, and was nearly thrown back by what he saw. She had on a floor length black dress that flared out a bit at the bottom do to the several layers of fabric. The top half of the dress was kind of like her corset. It was strapless and made of black leather tied together tightly showing off some of her cleavage. It was covered in rubies along the edge in spectacular swirled patterns. She was wearing black arm length gloves with more rubies on them. Around her neck was a black ribbon made of lace, and hanging from it was an amazing silver cross. Her hair was pulled up in a bun that flared out slightly the was she had it pulled up. A spectacular silver tiara layered in rubies, which some of them looked like blood drops hanging from it, was in her hair, along with matching earrings that hung from her ears. The mask she had on only covered her eyes. It was made of gold with more rubies aligning the edges, and it also flared out. Toad couldn't say anything, he couldn't even think. He was at a loss of words by how beautiful she looked. Finally he managed to spit out, " You look incredible." The words came tumbling out of his mouth just barely above a whisper. Zakara smiled and walked towards him out onto the balcony.

" It's nice isn't it?" Zakara motioned to the view that the balcony overlooked.

" Yeah, the view is amazin' up here." Mort said still having difficulty speaking.

" This is my favorite place in the world. It's so secluded and peaceful."

" I can see why you like it up 'ere. Wot are those mountains out there?" Toad asked.

" The Carpathians, and just beyond them is the Adriatic Sea. I've never been to the sea, I bet it's beautiful." Zakara said this just barely above a whisper. " Come on, were going to be late." She said changing the subject.

" Where exactly is this Masquerade?"

" In the Grand Hall."

" IT'S HERE!" Mort exclaimed.

" Yes, this place is the most suitable for it. Décors come here about a day before the festivities begin and decorate the room."

" They jus' come in?"

" I have Russ, the local bartender, let them in for me. I gave him a key to the castle."

" You mus' really trust this guy, huh?" Toad asked slightly disappointed.

" He's like a father to me." A wave of relief washed over Mort. " Here take this." She said as she handed him a mask that she had been holding. It was black with a gold trim. He slid the mask on, covering only his eyes. " So 'ow do I look?" He asked sarcastically.

" Not bad, black is a good color on you." She said sincerely.

" Oh, uh thanks." He mumbled, surprised that he'd actually gotten a sincere answer.

" Lets go vampire patrolling." Zakara smiled as she led Toad to the Grand Hall. He couldn't help but smile also. / Maybe this thing won't be so bad./

**Authors Note: I know such a weak ending, but please R&R! Is my spelling and grammar getting any better? Please let me know.**

**- OBEY THE FIST!**


	17. Chapter 17

1**Authors Note:**

**I know it's been forever since I posted something up (grumbles stupid school) Hopefully this will make up for it.**

**Oh and I also forgot to mention, I'm meeting Ray Park! I'm going to the Pittsburgh Comicon convention in PA in April and he'll be there.**

**Chapter 17:**

The Grand Hall was unlike anything Toad had ever seen. The size alone must have been the length of a football field, and its beauty was incredible. Built-in carving of angels, and tapestries of various pictures covered the walls. The ceiling was a gigantic dome shape with stained glass patterns and angels covering it. A small balcony hung over the side of part of the room, where two young children played together quietly. In the very back of the room was an orchestra playing a rhythmical Cirque De Soli kind of song. Everyone was dancing like clockwork. No one ever fell out of place. Not only was the room full of dancers, it was also full of various acts. There were ribbon twirlers, fire breathers, a contortionist, trapeze artists, and much more. And though there were so many different people they all had one thing in common, masks. Everyone was wearing some form of a mask. Some of which covered only their eyes, and others that covered their entire faces. The entire ordeal of it all reminded Mort of the ' Monster Ball' scene from the ' Van Helsing' movie. The song ended and a new one began. An opera singer began to throat sing, and Zakara grabbed Mort's hand, leading him to the center of the room. Soon the familiar song that she had taught him started. And just like everyone else, they too fell into the clockwork rhythm of the song.

" So IF there are vampires here, 'ow will we find them?" Mort asked dipping her.

" With my heat-seeking vision. Living humans appear like red skeletons, and vampires appear to be blue when I use it."

" Wot abou' mutan' s?" He asked pulling her back up.

" There red with some green." As she said this she transformed her eyes. The electric blue of her 'newly' acquired eyes really stood out against her black mask, making her look incredibly eerie. Zakara looked all over the room, inspecting each person thoroughly. She shifted her eyes back as Mort dipped her again.

" Well?"

" Everyone here is either a human or a mutant. It makes no sense! This would be the perfect time for as vampire to attack." She said utterly baffled.

"So wot now?"

" We go back to the abyss and report what we found."

" Bu' luv, we didn' find anythin'."

" I know, and that's what's bothering me." Zakara led Toad through the crowd to the hallway. They had only walked a few feet when Zakara transformed her tongue into a snake. She stopped and began to smell the surrounding area. Transforming her tongue back she turned to Mort and said, " Something's not right. Come on!" She grabbed his hand and ran down the corridor towards the courtyard. By now Viper could detect what the scent was. She smelt blood, and it was getting stronger. Reluctantly Zakara let go of Toad's hand and began to run to the room at incredible speed. Mort was a few meters behind her when she ran through a large pair of doors leading outside. The courtyard was in a circular shape, surrounded by walls of the castle. Though all the flowers were dead and withered away it still looked beautiful with the fresh blanket of snow covering everything. Making it all look like it was shimmering with crystals. Toad ignored the beauty of the room and walked strait up to Zakara, who was standing absolutely still in the center of the courtyard.

" Zakara, Zakara, Zaka…." Toad stopped dead in his tracks. In front of them was Cardinal Jinette lying dead in the center of the room. " Shyet, Zakara I'm…" he couldn't finish. Zakara bent down on one knee to examine Jinette. He was extremely pale, but not because of the bitter cold Transylvanian air. His features also seemed a little more shrunken in. She turned his head to the side to reveal two small holes in his neck. A vampire had obviously attacked him, and it had succeeded. She let out a small sigh then pulled out a silver stake that had been concealed in the top half of her dress. Viper raised the stake high above her head then brought it crashing down right into Jinette's heart. The Cardinal began to twitch violently as it let out a bloodcurdling scream. Then it stopped moving all together as it bean to disintegrate. . Mort watched in horror and amazement. Zakara bowed her head blessing him. " Requiescat en Pace."

" Zakara." Mort started.

" We need to get back to Rome." She said quietly as she left the room. Mort began to follow her, but stopped and turned back to Jinette, who was now nothing more than a pile of ashes. On top of his remains was the crucifix that he had worn, commemorating that a very important man once lived. Toad bent down and gently picked up the crucifix, brushing away the ashes remains. He slide it into his coat pocket and casually walked out of the room towards the jet.

**Authors Note:**

**Hmmm what will our little Toad do with Jinette's crucifix? You'll just have to wait and find out PLEASE R&R**

**P.S- Requiescat en Pace is actual Latin for may he/she rest in peace.**


	18. Chapter 18

1**Chapter 18:**

Toad boarded the jet shortly after Zakara; they had both decided to change back into there normal clothing. When he got on he saw Zakara talking to another member of the Order in Latin, on a gigantic screen that was pulled down over the side of one of the walls. He walked past her and sat down in the co-pilots seat waiting for her to finally break down and cry. But she never did, she just quietly sat down when she was done and started the jet.

" 'm sorry." Mort said sympathetically.

" Thank you," she said smiling at him " but I will see him again. We Transylvanians always try to look on the brighter side of death."

" There's a brighter side of death?"

" Yes, its just harder to see."

By the time they got back to the Island it was well past 1:00. Back in Vatican they had talked with the other members of the Order in regards to what happened earlier that night. Now they silently crept into Zakara's room, trying not to wake anybody. They made sure that the room was secure before saying anything.

" Wot was he doin' there?" Toad asked inquiring about Jinette.

" I, I don't know. But it was probably something important; otherwise he wouldn't have been there. Zakara bent down and opened one of the dresser drawers beside her bed, and pulled out a small, amber colored, glass bottle. She unscrewed the top and took a long drink from the liquid inside it. Zakara offered the bottle to Mort who looked at the bottle with perplexment.

" Absinth?" Toad asked looking at the label.

" Yes, its some of the strongest liquor I know of." Mort shrugged his shoulders as he tilted the bottle back to his mouth. Before it touched his lips Zakara warned, " Careful, it'll nock you on you're a'." She never finished the sentence; she passed out from being up most of the night, and

from the Absinth. Toad shot out his tongue and grabbed her before she hit the floor. He held onto her by supporting her back with his free hand. Reeling his tongue back into his mouth he put the bottle to his lips and took a long drink. The liquid burned his mouth, tongue, and throat, sending an electrical sensation, followed by numbness through his entire body. He loved and hated it at the same time. Toad sat the bottle down on the dresser, and laid Zakara down on the bed before falling asleep too with her in his arms.

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She woke up to the sound of a strong and steady beating heart. A pair of muscular arms were wrapped around her waist, and a slight pressure was weighing on top of her head. Zakara's head was resting on the person's well-toned chest, and both of their bodies were pressed up against the beds headboard. She sighed softly at the peaceful moment, and the person stirred from there blissful slumber. The weight on her head lifted, and she heard that all too familiar, but wonderful British accent.

" Luv, you awake?" Toad asked yawning. Zakara mumbled a yes. " What happened last night?" She asked when she finally noticed that her head was pounding with pain. Mort turned his head, which was also pounding and grabbed the empty bottle of Absinth off the dresser. He showed her the empty bottle causing her to laugh slightly. " Well that explains why my head fells like I've been hit with a bat. What about you?" " Like I've been hit by a bloody truck." Toad said smiling. Zakara slowly got out of bed, and staggering from sleepiness made her way to the connecting bathroom. Toad could here her quietly opening and closing cabinets, then the sound of her pouring something into a shallow container. Zakara came out of the bathroom with two small medicine caps full of thick black liquid. She slid into bed, giving Mort one of the caps. Viper downed hers immediately, showing no emotion at all. Toad downed it too, nearly throwing up all the contents in his stomach.

" WOT TH' FUCK IS THIS!" Zakara hissed at him to shush. " It's going to make your hangover go away." She said softly as she rested her head back onto his chest, shutting her eyes. Mort rested his head back onto hers as his eyes began to fell incredibly heavy. Barely five seconds passed before they were both fast asleep again.

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A bloody battle could be seen for miles around. The sound of war cries and metal clanging against each other could be heard. Bodies littered the ground, and death hung in the air.

Zakara jolted from her dream, whipping out a knife from her jacket pocket she thrusted a knife across the room sticking it in the wall across from them. Mortimer immediately woke up. " 'Z' wot's wrong?" Zakara laid back down and Toad wrapped his arms around her waist. " Wot 'appened luv."

" It's theses dreams I keep having. About ancient battle past. And I can feel myself in the dream, like I was actually there. But I know I could have never been there, because they happened in 73 A.D." Zakara was really bothered by these dreams. " You gonna be ok.?" Toad asked concerned.

" Yeah." She smiled moving slightly closer to him. " So how do you feel?"

" A lot better actually. What was that anyway."

" Sorry, if I told you I'd half to kill you." Zakara said laughing. Mort laughed also. " Oh yeah, Magneto said that he wanted me to work with you when we go' back. Wants us to work on your hand-to-hand combat. He says you seem really comfortably wif workin' wif you' weapons, but says he wants you to work wif just your natural strengths."

" I haven't used my bare hands for combat in a long time. Actually sounds fun."

**Authors Note:**

**GOD, what a lame ending! But I needed to put up this chapter to make the rest of the story work. It shall get better! R&R**

**- OBEY THE FIST!**


	19. Chapter 19

1**Authors Note:**

**I am terribly sorry that I haven' been reviewing any of your stories. As my comp is undergoing a major virus. But I would like to say great work to all those who have been updating there stories, and adding more Toad ones to our lovely site. Thank you. **

**Chapter 19:**

"Do you 'ave any weapons on you?" Toad asked as they entered the Danger Room

" Of course I do."

" Ge' rid o' them." Zakara bent down and pulled two switchblades from the side of her boots. She unhooked her sword holster and discarded two hand size revolvers from her waist. Bending down again Viper pulled out a long dagger that was strapped to her thigh. Zakara took her jacket off, flipping it around so Mort could see why. Inside the jacket were several wooden stakes, some crucifixes, ammo, and another revolver. Toad stared wide eyed as she laid the jacket down, then stuck her hand down her corset, pulling out a beautifully elaborate, silver stake. He shook his head in disbelief, but smiled and asked " You sure you ain't go' nothin' else on you?" Zakara thought for a moment, then pulling back her sleeves revealed a small, circular disk strapped to each of her wrists. She flicked her wrists and instantly the disks expanded to five times their original size, with deadly razor sharp blades sticking out. Both of them spun wildly around, sounding like a pair of buzz saws as she squeezed on the triggers. Mort was fascinated by them. " Tojos." She said matter-of-factly when she saw his interest in them.

" Do you always carry tha' much wif you?"

" No. Sometimes I bring a crossbow." Zakara said humorously, but still truthfully.

" Luv, do you even need you' mutation?"

" No, not really. But it does come in handy sometimes." Toad nodded his head, and left to set up the control room.

" Ready?" He asked when he came back.

" Yes."

" Good." Toad lunged at her, kicking her firmly in the chest. Zakara went flying into one of the walls, hitting it with a loud bang. Luckily her corset deflected most of the blow, so she barely felt pain. Zakara got up and ran towards him with unnatural speed and agility. She did a series of back flips and twists until she was completely behind him. Toad turned around and Zakara punched him square in the jaw, sending him into a wall. Viper walked up to him, ready to deliver the final blow. She shot her fist at his face with lightning fast speed, but somehow he managed to catch it with his tongue. She tried again with her free hand, but he caught that also. Before Toad had a chance to make his move, Zakara kneed him hard in the groin. Mort yelped, releasing her from his grip, and doubled over in pain. She picked him up by the neck and slammed him back into the wall. Viper bared her fangs, reeled back her head, and shot a stream of acid like venom at him.

He shut his eyes, and screamed in terror, awaiting to be acidtated alive. But nothing happened. Slowly he opened his eyes when he heard Zakara laughing like a maniac. Looking down Mort saw that Zakara had stuck him to the wall with her venom. /Bu' 'ow/ He thought to himself. Instead he wined " 'ey you cheated!" Zakara quite laughing long enough to say, " What? Your tongue isn't part of your mutation?"

" Wasn' jus' talkin' 'bout tha'. I didn' know you were such a dirty fighter."

" I do what I need to do." Zakara replied as she began to cut Mort down with one of the knives she picked up. " I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?" Slightly concerned that she may have been too rough on him. Especially when she kneed him.

" No, 'm fine." Mort lied. In fact he still hurt like hell. " So 'ow come I didn' die when you hit me wif you' venom?"

" Because I didn't use my venom. I have two glands that I use to make it. One is an incredibly sticky substance, and the other is pure acid. When I mix them together, then I produce my venom. And that's when you should worry. In fact I use it to fuel the jet, but that's beside the point. I just used the other stuff to stick you to the wall." Zakara cut Mort down and put the knife back into her boot.

" Huh, interestin'. 'ey you need any help wif tha'?" Toad asked pointing to her remaining weaponry.

" Thanks, but I'm done." Zakara said while putting her jacket back on. Toad walked towards her, and accidentally stepped on her silver stake.

" I think you may 'ave missed this." Mort said while handing her the stake.

" Oh thank you." She replied while sliding it back into her corset. " I need to make some calls to the Order. So I'll see you later?" Zakara asked.

" Righ'." Viper turned around to leave, but Mort stopped her. " Ummmm, 'Z'," " Yes?" " I wos wonderin' if you would meet me outside at around eight tonight?" " Sure, I'll meet you at the jet." Sounds good te me." Zakara smiled and left the room. When she was out of sight Mort took out Jinette's crucifix from his coat pocket. /God, I 'ope I know wot 'm doin'./

**Authors Note:**

**Yeah I know, weak ending. But the next chapter will defiantly make up for it. Please R&R!**


	20. Chapter 20

1**Chapter 20:**

Zakara looked at the sun that was slowly sinking into the sky. " One minute to eight." She mumbled to herself. She had learned to tell time by the position of the sun in the sky. So she never really needed a watch.

" 'ey you made it!" Toad said walking from behind the jet.

" Well of course I made it. You did after all tell me to come."

" Righ'. 'ere put this on." Mort reached into jacket and pulled out a black blindfold.

" What for?" Zakara asked taking the blindfold from him and covering her eyes.

" You'll see. Now give me you' 'and." Zakara felt Mort slowly grab onto her hand. Though she was wearing gloves, she could fell the warm pulse of his blood running through his veins. She always wondered why she could fell someone's blood moving, or hear there pulse so loudly, but never really worried about it. (Probably part of my mutation.) She'd always say to herself. Toad slowly guided her over to the cliff wall, making sure she didn't trip or hurt herself.

" I'll be righ' back." He said letting go oh her hand. Mort put his hands on the wall and quickly scaled up the side of it. When he was at the top, he took out a small control panel and aimed it at Zakara. " Don' move." He called down to her. Toad pressed one of the buttons and a beam of light shot down, engulfing her body in the brightness.

" The next thing she knew Zakara was standing next to Toad on top of the cliff. " How?" Was all she managed to say. " Short range teleporter luv. Been workin' on it fo' months." He said stepping behind her and taking the blindfold off. Zakara stared in silent amazement at the sight that lay before here. The ocean lay before them, the waves crashing over the island it a rhythmic fashion. The sun had set on the horizon line, bathing the city in a golden glow.

" It's beautiful up here." Zakara whispered. " But why did you bring me here?" She asked turning around to face Mort.

" A lo' o' sheyt 'as 'appened in th' pas' few days. Me findin' out tha' 'm some warrior fo' the Devil, an' you losin' Jinette." Mort paused as he saw the hint of sadness creep into her eyes. " Anyways I jus' figured tha' you'd might want a brake from it all. From the monsters, from the Order, from your past." A warm smile spread over Zakara's face. " Thank you."

Mort smiled back nodding his head. " I almost forgo', I thought you might like this." Toad reached into his pocket and pulled out a crucifix. Jinette's crucifix.

" Jinette's cross?" Zakara asked starry eyed as she stepped in front of Toad.

" Yha, I know you two were pretty close, despite 'ow you two talked to each other. And I thought you'd like to keep it, to remember him."

" That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." Mort raised his hands and slid the cross over her head. When he looked back at her, he saw a single tear slide down her cheek. It was a tear of sadness and joy mixed. He gently brushed it away with his thumb. Zakara looked up at him. He was extremely handsome, but she never really noticed how much he was until now. His golden eyes gleamed against the sun, making them seem to sparkle against his green complexion. The fact that his irises looked like upside down raindrops made them all the more beautiful. She moved closer to him, and kissed him. He didn't pull away; he kissed her right back enjoying the gentle touch of her blood red lips against his. Mort felt his heart skip a beat when he felt her tongue trace his lips. Slowly he moved out his tongue and felt it brush against hers. Zakara wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his carefully spiked hair. Slowly he put an arm around her curved waist, and raised the other arm to her head holding her close to him. The kiss was gentle and sweet, and as each second passed the kiss became more intense and romantical. When they parted for air the sun had completely sunken below the horizon line and a beautiful crescent moon was hovering over the sky. They looked deep into each other's eyes and smiled at one another. They didn't need words, because they both felt the same thing. Love.

**Authors Note:**

**So what did you think? Please R&R, but nothing to obscene as my nosy mother checks my e-mails **


	21. Chapter 21

1**Authors Note:**

**OK a few announcements to make…**

**Today I had my first skating competition, and I didn't fall! YAY!**

**I've put up my website on my profile, but I wouldn't go to it cause it sucks. My comp has major issues and I can't do anything to it. So disregard this note please.**

**I've decided that it would be impossible top post my favorite lyrics on my profile, so I'll randomly change the songs when I fell like it. Right now I have Rob Zombie- Dragula, and Dierks Bentley-Settle For A Slowdown. Just in case anyone gives a damn. OK here's the story. **

**Chapter 21:**

Someone was in her room she knew it. Zakara grasped the knife that she kept hidden under her pillow tighter. She didn't want to use her incredible senses to determine who it was; they might have been able to detect the movement of her tongue even in the pitch-black darkness. Whoever it was they were quiet. The "attacker" ran their fingers through her hair, probably thinking that she was asleep. As soon as they came in contact with her she pounced. Zakara shot up out of bed and grabbed them in a death lock. She was pressed up against the wall with the knife pressed up against there throat ready to slice them if need be.

" Ack! Za-ka-ra it's me." Mort chocked out. Zakara immediately released her hold on Toad, sheathing the knife into an empty holster on her boot.

" Sorry, but I can't be to careful right now."

" S'ok I understand." Toad said rubbing his neck. " Look I know it's early bu' I 'ad somethin' important to ask you."

Zakara sat back down on the bed motioning Toad to sit with her. " Is something wrong?"

" No, no nothin's wrong at all I was jus' wonderin' if you wanted to come wif me to the mainland."

" Sure, but why ask me at six in the morning?"

" 'cause we need to get there by eight."

"Mort you're speaking in tongues. Whatever it is you can just tell me." Zakara said comfortingly while snuggling up against him.

"D' you want to come wif me to meet my niece?"

" YOUR NIECE!" Zakara exclaimed. Mort clasped his hand over her mouth. "Oi! D' you want the entire Brotherhood te hear you?" He hissed.

" You never told me you had a niece." She said when he lowered his hand from her. " In fact I didn't even think you really had a family." Zakara said quietly.

" Pretty convincin' huh?" Toad smiled his golden eyes glimmering in the darkness. " Abou' five years ago I went back to Britain to find my parents, I was gonna kill them." Mort paused and Zakara kissed his check lightly to let him know that she cared. " Bu' I couldn' do it. They never wanted to put me in that hellhole of an orphanage. In fact they said someone took me out of the 'ospital an' put me there. At first I didn't believe them, then I saw 'er. She 'ad the exact mutation as me, an' I knew tha' they were tellin' the truth. Found out tha' she was my sister's, apparently Elizabeth, my sister, was born 'bout a year after I was. Anyway's she go' married and 'ad Anna. Bu' 'er jackass of a 'usband couldn' stand the fact of 'avin' a mutan' as a daughter, so he left 'er. I knew a place where Anna could be accepted as a mutan',' Xavier's School Fo' The Gifted Youngsters'. A school run by the most powerful telepath in the world. They were 'appy to let both of them stay, even though Eve isn't a mutan'."

" Wow." Zakara whispered. " I had no ides. But why tell me? And why now?"

" Professor Xavier, the guy who runs the school, also leads the X-men. There kinda our enemy."

" Wait your enemy?"

" I don' think I've been totally honest wif you 'bout the entire 'Brotherhood' organization. While we are tryin' to protect mutan' rights were doin' it at a cost. 'm a terrorist 'Z', we all are." Mort paused waiting for Zakara to say something, but she never did. " The X-men our are enemies, they've been tryin' to stop us at everythin' we've ever done. Did you hear 'bout the attack at the Statue Of Liberty when the U.N Summit was goin' on last year?" Zakara nodded her head 'yes' but said nothing. " Well it was us against them, an' we lost, bad. There weather witch, Storm, electrocuted me into the 'udson, an' when I go' out of the hospital I went to the nearest bar. An' that's the exact one I meet you in."

" Well now I see why you're the Right Hand." She finally said.

" Yer no' mad?"

" No of course not, why would you think that?"

" I thought you'd 'ave to kill me."

" Why on earth would you think that!" Zakara exclaimed.

" I've killed people 'Z' wouldn' tha' brand me as some sort of evil creature? An' doesn' tha' mean you half to kill me?" Zakara laughed lightly.

" Mort for one thing it would be almost impossible for me to kill you, we're both to evenly matched. Two your not evil, well technically you are but evil does not rule you so therefore I cannot kill you. The fact that you didn't kill your parents and all their help and support you've given to your niece and sister proves it. And thirdly I don't think I could anyway, I care to much about you."

" Thanks 'Z'." Toad leaned in and kissed her lightly on the mouth.

" So tell me more about this school."

" It's a great place, everyone there is a mutan', well except fo' 'E'. When 'm no' doin' anythin' here I go there an' help wif the little kids. It's a great way to spend more time wif Anna. An' the professor 'as promised me to make sure that no one in the Brotherhood finds out."

" Anna must really care about you."

" Yeah, she's a great gel. A little ambitious bu' a great kid. So wanna come wif me?"

" I'd love to."

**Authors Note:**

**So how's that for a plot twist? Come on who saw it comin'? No one? YAY! Please R&R**


	22. Chapter 22

1**Authors Note: **

**Well here it is people the next chap! Took forever I know, sorry but I couldn't think of how to do it. Finally finished it on the 4th of July, by the way Happy belated 4th everybody. Is's crappy I know, but I knew if I didn't get it up soon you guys would form a lynch mob. So here, don't kill me. **

**Chapter 22:**

Toad and Zakara drove down a back road in a beat-up, old Toyota. Toad had " borrowed" it several years back at the harbor where they had docked the boat. Now, he just used it whenever he needed to. Mort turned left on a ground road, and about a hundred yards ahead of them was a huge mansion surrounded by an iron gate. Driving up to the gate Toad rolled down the window and pressed the numbers 2-4, 1-3, 5, 1-4 on the control panel hooked up to it. Zakara looked out her window and read the sign to herself. / Xavier's School For The Gifted Youngsters. Welcome./ The control panel beeped and the gates slowly swung open. Mort drove to the front door and parked the truck. Zakara and him got out and walked up to the doors; Toad rang the doorbell then looked over to Viper who seemed somewhat nervous.

" A little nervous luv?" He asked happily.

" Vampires, Gargoyles, Warlocks there all the same, people well there another thing. I'm not around people much, at least not until I met you. So I'd have to say yes, I am a little nervous."

" Don' worry 'bout it luv." Toad said kissing her cheek. " 'ell 'm a terrorist bu' I go' use to it." That seemed to help. The doors finally opened and Wolverine steeped out.

" Hey Toad, Annas' in the back yard." Wolverine said leaning against the doorframe. Wolverine shifted his gaze onto Zakara and he almost lost his balance. " Who are you?"

" Zakara, it's nice to meet you Mr..."

" Logan." He said putting his hand out. Zakara took it smiling. " Are you here with Toad?" He asked unsure.

" Yes."

" Check in with the Professor first then." Logan said to Toad. Mort nodded and grabbed Viper's hand leading her inside. Wolverine looked back at the two, more at Zakara / Lucky bastard./ He smiled and shut the door behind him. Zakara had never seen a mansion more beautiful than this one. Everything right down to the lighting was spectacular. Several students passed them on there way to Xavier's office, all of which who seemed shocked by Zakara's stunning and exotic appearance. Toad led her into the office, where Xavier was sitting behind his desk with his hands folded and a warm smile spread across his face.

" It's good to see you again Toad, Anna's been asking about you."

" Likewise."

" Now if I may, who is your beautiful friend?" Xavier asked inquiring about Zakara.

" Zakara Macadra, nice to meet you sir."

" The pleasure is all mine." Xavier attempted to do a quick mind sweep of Zakara to make sure she wasn't any sort of threat in any way, but to his utter disbelief he couldn't see anything. It was as if her mind was locked in an unpenatrable vault surrounded by a darkness so dark it made night look like day. Despite the fact that he couldn't gain anymore information from her he saw that she didn't seem like a threat. " Well I won't keep you two, Anna's in the back, but I'm sure you already knew that." Toad nodded his head and he and Viper turned to leave, but before they could get to the door Xavier stopped them. " Ms. Macadra if you would be so kind as to remove your sword, for the safety of the students."

" Of course," Zakara removed her sword and holster from her waist and handed them over to him. " If I leave the rest of my weapons here may I retrieve them later?"

" You have... more?"

Viper flashed him a smile. " Yes." Xavier nodded his head wondering what else she could possibly have on her. He had no idea.

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" My word Ms. Macadra, what do you need all these weapons and crucifixes for?" Xavier exclaimed starring wide eyed at the large pile of knives, pistils, stakes, and crucifixes in front of him.

" My job." She said simply not elaborating on why.

" Cin we go now?" Toad asked.

" Yes." Prof. X said rather quickly still shocked at all the weaponry. Toad and Zakara left the office. " There's something very important about her." He mumbled as he picked up the elaborate silver stake that she concealed in her corset. " Someone very important indeed."

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There were several students in the backyard. Some engaged in a game of basketball, others just milling about. Toad walked over to a large oak tree near the lake and pool.

" I'll be back in a second luv." He said to Viper. Mort grabbed onto the trunk and quickly scaled up it which was soon followed by a high-pitched girl's scream then laughter.

" Your back!" Anna yelled excitedly who unseen by Zakara, hugged her uncle warmly.

" Hi sweetie. 'ey brought someone fo' you to meet."

" Ooooooooo is it a girllllllllllllllllll?" Anna asked playfully.

" Yesssssssssssssssss." Toad imitated her.

" Is she pretty?"

" She's beautiful." Zakara brought her hand up to her mouth, touched by hearing him say that.

" What's her name?"

" Why don' you ask her yerself?"

" Ok, where is she?"

" Down on th' ground."

" Really! Can I meet her now?"

" Well tha's why she came."

" Great! Can we jump." Zakara heard Mort laugh sightly then say " Wouldn' 'ave it any other way." Zakara could hear them standing on the branch as it creaked under their weight. Suddenly they both jumped out of the tree landing in front of her. Anna slowly stood up from her crouched position, examining Zakara, as she did with her. She was slightly short for a 5 year old, but Toad wasn't exactly tall either so she figured it must have something to do with there mutation. Her skin was green like Toad's, as was her hair which was long and tied in a high ponytail with several wisps of hair hanging in front of her face. Anna's eyes were also like Toad's, golden with irises that looked like upside-down teardrops. She wore a forest green tank-top with a floor length, dark-brown leather coat. A pair of dark denim jeans and a pair of dark brown boots. If she didn't know any better Zakara could have sworn that Anna was Mort's daughter.

" Wow! Uncle Mort was right you are pretty." Zakara smiled at her and Toad blushed slightly. " What's your name?"

" Zakara." Her accent seemed to shock Anna for a brief moment. / Wow, even her voice is pretty./

" I'm Anna. Are you Mort's girlfriend?" Toad blushed violently and cast his eyes to the ground.

" I would have to say yes, I am." Mort's eyes shot up to Zakara who was smiling at him. He smiled back at her unnoticed by Anna who was brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes.

" I'm glad. Are you as mutant too?" Anna asked hopefully.

" Yes I am."

" What can you do?"

" Well I'm like a snake. I can see in inferred, meaning I can see your body heat if I change my eyes like this," Viper shifted her eyes to that eerie blue which made Anna jump a little, then as quickly as she turned them she turned them back. " also my reflexes are so fast that there almost untraceable and I'm incredibly strong."

" Cool! Do you have fangs also?" Zakara slide her fangs out. " And venom." Viper replied while retracting them back.

" Anna!" a woman's voice called out from across the lawn. All three of them swivelled there heads in the direction. A pretty looking woman that didn't look any younger to Zakara was seen walking across the lawn. She had long brown hair, with a braid on either side of her head and had fairly tan skin. Her eyes were a deep, but beautiful brown and had just the slightest trace of black eyeliner and green eyeshadow. She had on a brown tank-top with three red hibiscus flowers across the chest. A skirt that rose slightly above her knees that was ruffled at the bottom, green, with blue check lines and had darker green, blue and red flowers all over it, and she wasn't wearing any shoes. As soon as she saw Toad she came running over wrapping her arm around him.

" Oh my god Mortimer I can't believe you're here!"

" 'ey sis." Toad said while hugging her back. Elizabeth looked over to Zakara who was talking to Anna about where Transylvania was.

" Oh my god Mort, is this the girl you were talkin' 'bout?" She asked letting go of him.

" Yeah, Elizabeth this is Zakara. Zakara, Elizabeth."

" Wow Mort wasn't kiddin' when he said tha' you were a knockout." " Eve." Mort whined wanting her to stop. It wasn't that bad that Anna said it, she was 5 but not his sister.

" Wot? I mean come-on you told me on the phone tha' she was pretty, bu' no' this pretty. It's good to finally meet you Zakara."

" Likewise." Viper replied smiling.

" You know besides th' fact tha' your wearin' all black an' red you look jus' like Anna from tha' movie Van Helsing."

" I get that quite often."

" Ma-ma isn't she great?" Anna asked tugging on her skirt.

" Yes she is. Would you care te grab a cup o' coffee Zakara?"

" That would be nice."

" Mort, 'ow 'bout you?"

" Can't. I promised Scott tha' the next time I came over I'd 'elp fix his car. Somefin 'bout his carburetor or whatever."

" Anna, Becky is lookin' fo' you. Last I saw she was in 'er room."

" Becky's my best friend." Anna explained to Zakara. She motioned for her to come down so she could whisper something in her ear. " I'm not supposed to tell anyone but Becky has a crush on Mort. Promise not to tell?" Zakara smiled and nodded her head yes. Anna smiled back hugging Viper. " I'm glad you're his girlfriend. Maybe, maybe someday you'll be my aunt." Zakara blushed slightly but still smiled nevertheless. " I'll see you later ok?" Anna asked standing up.

" Absolutely." With that Anna turned and headed to the Mansion to play with Becky.

" Well then I'll jus' catch up wif you two later then." Mort said as he wrapped an arm around Zakara's corseted waist and kissed her cheek lightly.

" Awwwwww." Elizabeth coed. Toad shook his head in disbelief at his sister. / God 'Z', I hope you can 'andle Eve, she's like a grown version of Anna sometimes./

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For hours Zakara and Elizabeth sipped coffee and engaged in conversations. At around 8:00 PM Anna and Becky came back to the room to retrieve Anna's things so she could sleep over in Becky's room. Becky was also 5 like Anna and had a nice golden glow tan to her. Her hair was a dark drown, long, and flipped out slightly at he bottom. She wore dark blue-jeans, black boots, and a forest green T-shirt underneath a black trench coat. The only thing that showed that she was visible mutated were her eyes which were completely black with glowing green irises.

" Wow, your Toad's girlfriend?" Becky marveled with curiosity.

Smiling Zakara nodded her head and said " You must be Becky."

" Uh-hu, but most people call me Thorn."

" Now why's that?" Becky looked outside from a nearby window, she squinted her eyes in concentration then almost instantly vines covered in razor sharp thorns appeared out of nowhere. They grew strait up about twelve feet before she slowly made them disappear into the ground.

" Impressive." Zakara said still staring out the window. " Very impressive."

" Come on Becky." Anna said tugging on her arm towards her adjoined room. Just then Toad and Wolverine came walking in.

" Ya know I really don't get you frog boy. Your smart enough to rebuild an entire car from scratch, but your not smart enough to make sure the distributor cap is screwed on all the way."

" Shadup." Toad replied while whipping off some remaining oil from his face. Surprisingly Wolverine had probably become one of his closest friends at the mansion. Which was pretty shocking since he tried to kill Jean, Storm and he built the machine that almost killed Rouge. Though the fact that him and Elizabeth were going out may have helped a little. Actually everybody pretty much liked him, except for Storm who still had some hard feeling toward him since Liberty Island, and the feeling was pretty much mutual. But they did tolerate each other which was good enough for him.

In the meantime Anna had gone to her room and collected her things. " OK I'm leaving."

" Wait, 'ere are you goin'?" Toad asked.

" Over to Becky's."

" Go' it. 'ey Beck."

" Hi." She mumbled quietly blushing slightly. " I'll see you in a few minutes Anna." Becky said quickly before leaving. Toad looked at Anna questioningly but she just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug and he hugged her back.

" I'll see you soon luv." It was a statement rather than a question.

" Can't wait," She released him from the hug, " try not to get married before then." She quickly added before running over to Viper and hugged her too. " I'm really glad you came."

" Me too." Anna proceed to hug her mom and Logan then left.

" 'Z' we should ge' back, there gonna start wonderin' where we are." Toad stated as he looked at his watch.

" Yes, your probably right. It was nice meeting you all." Zakara added standing up.

" Yes. I 'ope te see you soon." Elizabeth replied, Wolverine nodded in agreement.

" I'll see you guys later." Mort said as he led Zakara out of the room. " I told you tha' mi family wos a little over zealous."

" No, there great!" It's obvious that they care about you, some more than you may think..." She trailed off mysteriously thinking of Becky.

" Wot?"

" Nothing." She said playfully. " Come on we need to pick up my sword."

**Authors Note: Told you it was bad. I'm sorry, please REVIEW sniff I'll make me feel better. If your wonderin' why I didn't better explain the exterior of the mansion, well I felt that I didn't need to. I mean hello you've seen the movie ya'll know what it looks like. bows Thank you for your understanding. Remember REVIEW!**

**PS. If you can figure out what the control panel code is you'll get a free cookie!**

**- OBEY THE FIST!**


	23. Chapter 23

1**Author's Note: I'm backkkkkkkkkkkkk, finally! I know I've been gone for forever, I apologize. I've been super busy since June. I was in a musical over the summer so that took up a major part of my time. Then I finally got a BF, YAY, so I was a little preoccupied with him, still am. And High School has taken a major toll on me. So up-dating wont be as frequent as it used to be. Sorry for the inconvenience. Though I am thinking about writing a LOTR fic, involving Pippin and Merry as I am heavily into Billy Boyd right now. Oh and BTW I revised part of chapter one, so take a look at it! I didn't think the old version was that great so I changed it a little. Hopefully this one flows a little better. **

**Warning: For those of you who LOVE Sabertooth your probably going to hate me my the end of this chapter. Sorry. **

**Chapter 23:**

It was late by the time they got back to the Lair. Toad docked the boat as quietly as he could, but before he could properly tie it up something slammed into the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. The last thing he saw were a pair of yellow eyes and Zakara crumpling to the boats floor.

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" Wot in the 'ell 'appened?" Toad groaned his head pounding. Through his blurred vision he could determine that he was in a pitch black room and that he was bound by something, by the sturdiness and coolness of it, it felt like a metal of some sort, probably steel. Zakara was behind him, her back to his also bound.

"We've been captured." Zakara said with malice.

"I figured tha', bu' why?" He wondered.

"Because of your betrayal Toad, Mystique the lights please." The lights switched on reveling that they were in Magneto's office. Toad and Zakara were in the center of the room, and Mystique and Sabertooth were on either side, guarding them. Magneto was a few feet away from Toad pacing back and forth. "So tell me Toad how long did you think you were going to get away with it?"

"I don' know wot your talkin' 'bout." He pretended dumbly.

"Now, now don't lie to me you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm talking about how you've been visiting the X-men, how you've been seeing that girl. What was her name again? Anna isn't it?" He said stopping his pace.

"'ow do you know 'bout Anna?" Toad whispered in fear.

"I've had Mystique follow you for quite some time now, she kept track of things for me. You've been so distant lately Toad." Magneto held up a picture of Anna, "What a beautiful little girl, she'll make a great fighter someday."

"Stay away from her." Toad hissed.

"And what are you going to do prattle?" Erik bent down in front of him, inches away from his face, "You can barely move."

"I'll kill you." Toad said so that only he could hear.

"Is that so?" Magneto asked standing up. "Well we can't have that, now can we?" He walked over to the door but stopped to turn back to them. With a flick of his wrist their metal restraints fell to the floor with a loud clang. "Kill them." He ordered sharply before leaving. Mystique and Sabertooth stepped closer to Toad and Zakara. Slowly they got up, keeping an eye on their opponents. Zakara against Mystique and Toad against Sabertooth.

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"You know I can smell that little brat all over you." Toad growled getting closer to Toad. "Tha' so?" Toad asked before lunging at him. Sabertooth grabbed his foot before Mort could execute a deadly kick to the skull, and threw him into a nearby wall. Victor roared in furry when he saw Toad stand up with only a small cut along his cheek and a smirk on his face. "Tha' all you got?" Sabertooth ran full speed toward him, claws extended ready to shred him in half. Toad grabbed onto his wrists seconds before his claws impaled him through the chest, and with a small jump he flipped over Sabertooth spinning off to the side when he broke contact with him. Mort, who was now crouched down on the floor, swung his foot into Victor's leg tripping him. Before Sabertooth hit the ground Toad shot out his tongue, grabbing onto his ankle he slammed him into the wall.

Sabertooth brushed off the hit as if a fly had landed on him. "After I kill you, I'm gonna kill the rest of your god damn family." Victor growled. "It's gonna be fun listing to that girl scream for mercy." It seemed that in that moment the area around Mortimer turned black and that his eyes glowed a demon red. "Nobody threatens my family." He hissed through clenched teeth. He came at him like a bat out of hell, punching and kicking him with deadly accuracy. Sabertooth could barely block one part of himself before Toad was somewhere else. During some point Toad must have slammed Victor's head into the wall because blood was running down the side of his face. Finally he slumped to the floor no longer able to keep defending himself. Toad bent down beside him, moving back Victor's hair that had been matted down with blood. Deep bruising had formed and there was a deep gash around it. The impact must have caused Victor's skull to crack open. Toad stood back up looking long and hard at his college. Along with a cracked skull Mort could also see that he had pretty much collapsed his rib-cage, shattered his eye socket, and slashed open his throat, for blood was rapidly spilling out. As hard as he was trying not to tears of pain had begun forming in Sabertooth's eyes with each ragged breath he took. He wasn't going to walk away from this, not this time and Toad knew this also. Again he bent down, grabbing onto Victor's head. With a sharp twist he broke his neck, "Requiescat En Pace." He mumbled before heading off to find Zakara.

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In the meantime Mystique and Zakara were engaged in a fierce battle of their own. "How could you betray us like this Zakara?" Mystique asked between kicks.

"I never betrayed you Raven." Zakara replied as she grabbed Mystique's ankle and flipped her upside-down.

"You knew they were our enemies, Toad told you this morning." Mystique snapped as she got back up while doing a butterfly kick into Viper's stomach.

"How did you know that?" Zakara questioned as she ran up a wall and flipped off it slamming into Mystique's back. Mystique groaned in pain as she landed into a wall. "It's like Magneto said, he had me keep track of things, including conversations. I also know that you two have feelings for each other."

Zakara shot her a look, but changed the subject. "So tell me Raven, do you really plan on taking that little girl from her mother and turn her into an assassin.?"

"Yes, are you going to tell me what the Left and Right Hand's of God are?"

"Not a chance." "Fine." Mystique said transforming into Zakara. "Son of a bitch how do you breath with this thing on?" Raven gasped grabbing hold of her abdomen. "Years of practice," she said as she drew her sword, Mystique drew hers as well.

"Raven do you even know how to use a sword?" Zakara asked stepping forward. "No, not really but how hard could it be? I mean it's not exactly rocket science, just a sharp blade." Mystique said as she attempted to thrust her swung into Viper's chest. Easily Zakara deflected it, twisting her own sword she nearly caused Raven to drop hers. The next several minutes were filled with pivots, blocks, and the occasional sound of metal clashing against each other.

At first this had been slightly amusing for Zakara, but she soon realized te increasing danger of the situation. Mystique was beginning to become extremely accurate with her sword, and though blocking was no hard task it was becoming very clear to her that she and Toad needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. She didn't want to hurt her, because deep down she knew that Mystique wasn't truly evil, just misguided. When she looked into her eyes she could see the same pain and loss, just like when she looked into Toad's.

"Zakara?!" Toad called out giving her enough time to get away from Mystique. "Mort we need to get out of here now!" "Yeah no kiddin' luv." He said as he grabbed her hand and ran for the door. Mystique, who had transformed back into her original form, put herself between the door blocking their path. "Your not getting out of here alive, not while I'm here," she hissed. She looked around for Sabertooth for backup, but when she spotted him in a bloody heap at he other end of the room it was all she could do not to lose it. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" She screamed tears brimming her eyes. Zakara quickly reached into her jacket pulling out five small silver discs. Before Raven had time to react she flung them at her, they expanded twice their size with a large hook protruding out of the side of each one. The way they were designed was to pin something against something else, such as a wall, which is exactly what they did. While Raven was left pinned against the wall screaming Toad and Zakara headed for her jet.

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Zakara sat in the piolet's seat trying to get the jet off the ground as quickly as possible. Toad sat there in silence staring off into space. In a matter of minutes he had gone from a loyal member of the Brotherhood to a backstabbing murderer. He was use to doing both of those things, it was part of his job for years. More likely, it HAD been part his job. But to the people he had once known as his friends? "Now what?" He murmured out loud still I a daze. "We go back to the X-mansion." She said as the craft took off into the night.

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**Authors Note: I hoped you guys liked this, it took me FOREVER to come up with the right words. Again sorry for all those who liked Sabertooth, I liked him too but it helped set up for the rest of the story. Please R&R! Thanks Oh and is my grammar getting any better? **

**- OBEY THE FIST!**


	24. Chapter 24

1**Authors Note****: Oh My God, I'm finally back!!! I know that I haven't up-dated in FOREVER, and I'm sorry, I've just had a lot to deal with. My up-dates still won't be as frequent, but I'm still going to try to get them up within a reasonable time. Thanks!!!**

**NOTE:**** I'm well aware that Jean died in the second movie. I mean who wouldn't after millions of gallons of water falls on top of you? However, I've decided to keep her in the story. No, she doesn't really have an important role, but I just hate to split up the old team ;)**

**Chapter 24:**

"The X-Mansion, why there?" Toad asked, as he cocked his head slightly in her direction.

Zakara's lips pressed firmly against each other as she tried to think of a way to tell him. "So that you can say goodbye."

"Goodbye? I don' think I understand."

"We need to leave Mort," her voice sounded soft and sad, "we need to leave and return to the Vatican."

"Wot? I can't leave! Wot 'bout Anna and Elizabeth!" Mort yelled jumping out of his seat.

"That's why we must leave!" Zakara yelled back in saddened frustration, as she flipped the jet on auto-pilot and stood up to face him "Don't you understand Mort? It's to dangerous for us to stay here. You killed Sabertooth, and you know that Magneto and Mystique won't rest until their hands are stained with our blood." Zakara stepped closer to Toad until she was only a few inches away. "This is for their protection, not ours, we can handle this but they can't. Say your goodbyes and we can warn Xavier to keep an eye on them. We'll use the Vatican as extra backup. There are people all over the world who secretly work for the Order and I can assign some to watch them if they leave the mansion grounds. This is the best way Mort." Her voice became softer as she took his hands in hers.

Toad cast his eyes toward the ground as he let out a heavy sigh. "Yer right luv, it's the only way." He said pulling Zakara's body close to him.

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Toad pounded his fist on the main doors hoping that someone would still be up so late in the night. To both his and Zakara's surprise Cyclopes opened the door, dressed fully in uniform. "Come in, there's something you need to know." Scott said solemnly. By the way Scott was talking Toad and Viper knew that something was very wrong. In silence they quickly followed him to Xavier's office where all the teachers had assembled. Zakara's eyes darted around the room as she tried to analyze the current situation. Storm and Jean's faces were stained with tears and they were trying their best to keep more from falling. Nightcrawler was hunched over in a corner murmuring prayers in German, and Wolverine stood silently off to the side with tears brimming his eyes. Professor Xavier who had been resting his head in his hands was the first to say anything. "Toad, I, I'm so sorry..."

"Wot 'appened?" Toad asked quietly as he realized that Elizabeth was nowhere in sight. "Wot in the bloody hell 'appened?!" Toad demanded again when no one answered. "Where's Elizabeth?"

A silent tear slid down Xavier's cheek, "She's dead Toad."

"No," he whispered as he fell back against the doorframe. "'ow?"

"We don't know. She said that she was going for a walk in the woods but that had been hours ago. I tried to use Cerebro to locate her, but I couldn't detect her brain signal. We searched for her for hours and when we finally found her..." He couldn't finish, it was just to painful for him.

"Does Anna know?" Toad whispered, still in a daze.

"Not yet but, come in." Xavier said shifting his gaze to the door. Slowly it opened and Anna scuttled into the room.

"I, I had a bad dream. Mommy went on her walk but something bad happened to her." Anna said sheepishly looking down at the floor.

/Mortimer, she needs to know. It's best if you told her./ the Professor mentally told him. Toad shook his head sadly as he scooped his niece up in his arms. "Come on sweetie, I'll take you back to bed." Just as they were leaving though Zakara blurted out "Anna, do you remember what happened in you dream?"

Anna nodded as she shifted around in her uncle's arms. "Uh huh, it was really scary. It was dark and mommy was coming home but out of nowhere this man came out from behind some trees and hit her."

"Wait, what did this man look like?" Viper interrupted full on intrigue.

"I don't know, It was to dark out to see him very well. He said something to her, but I couldn't hear, and then he bit her."

"Where? Where did he bite her?"

"On the neck. He had a dog with him too, and it was big, bigger that the man. I think it might have been a wolf, 'cause I could hear it howl. After he bit her, the man grabbed her neck and broke it. Then he grew wings and flew away."

"Come on, lets get you back to bed." Toad said softly. He turned toward Zakara, his eyes full of questions and concerns. "Don't tell her, just meet me outside," she mouthed out. He nodded in comprehension as he repositioned Anna, who had already fallen back asleep.

"Professor, where did you find Elizabeth?" Zakara asked, her blood already beginning to rush with adrenaline.

"Just north of Breakstone Lake in the backyard." Before he could ask why, Viper had already bolted out the door. "Wolverine follow her, I think she know's something."

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Viper ran across campus with inhuman speed. Everything whirled past her in a blur, her heightened senses where picking up every little detail. As she reached the edge of the woods the scent of blood suddenly overwhelmed her. It was pitch black outside, but somehow the woods seemed even darker, and Zakara thanked the heavens that her mutation made it possible to see in the dark.

"Zakara!" The voices of Toad and Wolverine rang out into the night. "Where are you?"

"Over here." She called back as she began to make her way in. The deeper she went, the stronger the scent of blood became. She stopped at a small clearing, where the scent was the strongest. "Christ, what happened here?" Logan asked as he and Toad finally caught up.

"Start looking for anything that may seem unusual, anything at all." Zakara replied as she started to examine the surrounding area.

"Hey, what's this?" Wolverine asked as he picked up a clump of black fur off a thorny thicket. "It smells like a wolf, but also, I don't know, a little human I think." He said giving the hair to Zakara.

"Werewolf." She whispered, as the color drained from her face. "Someone knows we're here." Suddenly a thought popped into her head, and she tore off back towards the mansion.

"Did she say Werewolf?" Logan asked, trying to hold back a snicker.

"Aye, come on." Toad yelled back as he ran after her, leaving Logan standing all alone in the dark.

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Zakara burst into Xavier's office, "What did you do with Elizabeth's body?"

"She's under ice in the medical bay until we can give her a proper burial. Zakara what's going on?"

There's no time to explain, but you need to take me there now."

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"Ms. Macadra I demand to know what's going on!" The Professor exclaimed as Zakara placed Elizabeth's corpse on the medical table. "You wouldn't believe me even if you wanted to," she smirked coldly.

"Try me." Zakara wasn't listening though. Instead she was focusing intently on Elizabeth's bite marks. "Toad, do you have any idea what she's doing?" Slowly Toad shook his head 'no'. Without a second thought Zakara shifted to her infered vision. "Oh my God." Her voice was barely over a whisper as she looked at the body. A spark of hope flashed into her eyes when she looked up as the two men, "She's not dead."

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**Authors Note:**** Well I hoped that ya'll liked it. Sorry if I'm a little rusty, comments would still be appreciated though. Oh, and if any of you that actually READ this story my Myspace URL is thedamnedangel. And please, let me know how my grammar/spelling is, if there's something incorrect then I'd be more than happy to fix it.**

**- OBEY THE FIST!**


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